When my family used to ask me if I liked to travel, I would always reply yes, though I had never been anywhere in my whole life. Then again, the last time I spoke to my family was when I was only five. My mother passed away then, and when I was ten, my father died. I lived in an orphanage until I was old enough for schooling. My uncle was willing to take me in, but only when I had a proper education.

I am twenty now, and on my way back to his mansion far away from the city. Of course I finished schooling when I was sixteen or so, and I was permitted to live with him then. Not that it was much better than before. He doted upon his own daughters, ignoring me, his sister’s daughter Alanna, for the most part. But I had no other life, no other family. How could I try to leave? I had no money to my name, and would be poor if I didn’t live with my uncle.

I had hardly been watching the landscape as the driver drove the horse along the worn path. The last village we had passed through didn’t look so welcoming. The citizens seemed scared of any strangers, and there was a large cemetery that took up half the town. But I put the thought of the town out of my mind and watched the dark trees go by, for the sun had set hours ago.

I watched as a large mansion appeared on the hill to the right. It was quite large, a bit bigger than my uncles home, but far grander. The stone wall that surrounded the place was crumbling in some places, but there was a lovely garden in the drive, and the forest curved around back. I shivered when I heard the sound of howling wolves, and pulled my coat around me tighter.

Suddenly, so fast I hardly knew what was happening, the carriage lurched to the side, nearly throwing me to the ground. I steadied myself and heard the driver scream again as the carriage was pushed over. My head hit the side painfully, and I heard the last of the horses frantic hoof beats die away. Still holding my head, I tried to stand as the carriage door opened above me. I saw a silhouette of a person, but didn’t have much time to wonder if it was the driver, when they grabbed me roughly and pulled me out of the carriage. In the moonlight, I saw it was a man that held me, and something dark dripped from his mouth.

“You’ll do. What’s your name?” he asked, holding my shoulder tightly.

“I—it’s Alanna. W-where’s the driver? What’s happened?” I asked, still trying to decide if it was indeed blood.

“He’s not feeling well at the moment,” the man said, smiling and revealing fangs where his canines should have been. I screamed as he pulled me to him, dragging me towards his own horse that stood at the edge of the road. I fought against him, trying to break free, but found his grasp to be too strong. With ease, he mounted the horse, still holding me, and led it to the mansion atop the hill.

“Let me go! Let—me—go!” I screamed as the horse came to a stop. He said nothing, but pulled me off the horse with him and went to the door, opening it and leading me inside first.

I wish I hadn’t struggled so much, for he took me to a basement at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Using rusted manacles, he clamped them around my wrists over my head, beginning to speak.

“You’ll have to stay here until I have things prepared for you; I’m sure you won’t mind,” he said, smiling.

“You bastard, let me go!” I cried, feeling tears prick my eyes. The man paused, staring down at me.

“You will call me William. Bastard is just rude,” he said. I continued to yell curses at him as he left, until I heard the door at the top of the stairs close. I finally stopped pulling at the manacles and let my tears fall, for I saw no way of escape.

I was awake until dawn, but William didn’t come to get me. I tried to stay awake during the day, but found it impossible. I slept, uneasily, wondering how long I would be forced to stay in William’s terrible company.